Your Other Family

Tom and Erin welcome Dr. Mark Yarhouse and Dr. Julia Sadusky, co-authors of Emerging Sexual Identities. We dive into sexual identity language and the reality that Gen Z is identifying in more diverse, specific ways than any previous generation. Mark and Julia explain the concept of residual, dominant, and emergent taxonomies for sexual identity language, such as “homosexual,” “gay,” and “greysexual,” respectively. We also learn about the coining of the term “heterosexual,” the nonjudgmental merits of queer theory, and how people are holding faith and sexuality together and separately. How do we as a community integrate the two in a healthy way?

Stay tuned for the end of the episode as Tom and Erin debrief their conversation with Mark and Julia. They also give updates on our ministry’s current funding status and the future of the YOFcast, as well as the other shows on our YOF Podcast Network!

you are not alone; even the sparrow finds a home

Tom welcomes new friend Drew Boa of Husband Material to dive into his book, Outgrow Porn. Tom shares his favorite tools from Drew’s toolbox for overcoming porn and unwanted sexual behaviors, including the breathe-observe-attune (BOA) method, “connecting the dots” from shame to glory and loss to connection, and non-dominant handwriting to connect with your inner child. Adult Tom vulnerably shares some recent journal entries with Little Tom as he reflects on his own journey with loneliness and restlessness, particularly amongst other boys, and how this has fed an often irresistible attraction or fetish for certain aspects of straight men.

you are not alone; even the sparrow finds a home

Tom welcomes back his younger brother Andy for this annual episode of previewing the Super Bowl! It’s the Seattle Seahawks vs. the New England Patriots for Super Bowl LX. Before we get to Andy’s top stories of this year’s big game, we catch up on the biggest year of his life with a new baby girl – and also that the Eagles won last year’s Super Bowl. We sneak in some Taylor Swift talk, including her podcast appearance with the Kelce brothers, and her future mother-in-law appearing on this season of The Traitors. Andy answers some silly yet relevant questions from our YOBBERS community, and he gets vulnerable about why football and the lesser things in life stress him out way more than the larger things do.

you are not alone; even the sparrow finds a home

It’s the start of a new fiscal year for our ministry, including a new board-approved budget that brings some modifications to the YOF content landscape and work duties for Tom and Erin. We'd love your prayers for continuing support beyond the foundation set in 2025 as we strive for 100% funding in 2026!

you are not alone; even the sparrow finds a home

We are back with our second YOScast episode with Erin, Lin, and Jericho! Realizing your attraction to women well past puberty is a very common phenomenon amongst our community. Why? When and how did you come to terms with your non-heterosexual identity? Together we highlight the “pros” of coming out later in life, including how this has enriched our faith journeys. We also play bingo, but you’ll have to listen to see who won!

What was your late bloomer experience? In what ways has your faith been impacted by coming to terms with your sexuality?

you are not alone; even the sparrow finds a home

We conclude our two-part episode on the church with stories of healing from church hurt and growth in the church. We also discuss the notion of building church resiliency amid our frustrations and hang-ups with the church. How have we grown in such resiliency? Despite how the church may still fail us, how can we place our ultimate security in Jesus as we live out the truth that we are the church?

Where have you experienced healing or resiliency in the church?

you are not alone; even the sparrow finds a home

It’s the premiere episode of Your Other Family Podcast! Or, the YOFcast, as we’ll also be known. Join hosts Tom and Erin for a brief origin story of how Your Other Brothers and Your Other Sisters came to be, along with some amazing topics we would discuss at length on this show – if only we had the full funding to do so!

We’re still finding our footing as a nonprofit ministry, and we’re excited about the possibility of this new YOF coed podcast with contributing members of both YOB and YOS, also maintaining our YOB and YOS podcast productions. But we still need help getting to that point! If you’re not already giving in support of our 501(c)(3) organization, would you consider a monthly gift today? Check out the link below for general giving, or shoot us a community inquiry if you’re interested in YOB/YOS membership! There’s always room for one more sparrow in this nest.

YOF General Giving

YOB Membership

YOS Membership

YOBcast 047: Intimacy

YOBcast 092: Second Adolescence

YOScast 001: YOS is a Thing!

you are not alone; even the sparrow finds a home

Tom welcomes back Dawson to recap our seventh YOB retreat! We share our perspective about our retreat’s first-ever prayer labyrinth exercise, and we hit some of the other highlights of our weekend together in western Pennsylvania, including a manly calisthenics workout and a mysterious visitor to our lodge porch. Dawson shares his reaction to being crowned our first-ever “Mr. Masculinity,” and Tom shares a profound retreat moment that crescendoed with fifty men huddling around him in prayer.

Have you ever walked a prayer labyrinth? What were your takeaways from this year's YOB retreat?

you are not alone; even the sparrow finds a home

Where have we experienced hurt in the church, whether from our sexuality or otherwise? How do we continue in spiritual communities after experiencing church hurt? Join Tom, Ryan, and Matt for a raw discussion on our community’s church hurt stories. We’ll dive into the other side of hurt in a follow-up episode, but for now, we want to honor the pain, the loneliness, the frustration, the rejection, the abuse, the trauma, and the injustice of experiencing hurt in a place and with a people where we should have experienced life. If one of us hurts, may we all hurt together.

Where have you experienced hurt in the church?

you are not alone; even the sparrow finds a home

Andrew returns to dive deeper into his blog, “A Straight Man Won’t Fix You.” What led him to write this post, and long did he ponder it? Join Tom and Andrew for a discussion on the idolization of friendships with straight men, theorizing why some men in Side B spaces get drawn into the "mythical" realm of straight men. We also briefly recap the third season of “Heartstopper” and lament Andrew’s lack of attendance – and also his felt presence – at this year’s YOB retreat.

How have you sought healing or "fixing" from a straight man? What happened?

you are not alone; even the sparrow finds a home